The True Robin
by snowbengal
Summary: Life seems to be same with the Young Justice team. They fight bad guys, hang out, and occasionally save the world. But for some reason, Robin feels like there's something a little off with everything and everyone and a past villain comes back to haunt him. None of his friends believe him but Robin is determined to find the truth though it could be more than Robin can handle.
1. Prologue

_Hey everyone, snowbengal here! This is my second fanfiction about Dick Grayson and I think I'm a little obsessed with him, hahaha. I know this chapter is a little short but a longer chapter will be released very soon. This is rated T for some upcoming heavy subjects so viewer discretion is advised. If you like this story, please please please review! Reviews are how I know people like the story or whether they want to offer constructive criticism so please don't hold back. With that being said, enjoy the story!_

Prologue

Early morning sunlight slanted through tall, floor-to-ceiling windows and gleamed off the expensive leather furniture and sophisticated technology that filled the otherwise stark study. Bruce Wayne sat in a swivel chair in the shadows near the southern end of the room, obsessively turning a metal batarang through his fingers. An untouched plate of eggs and sausages lay neglected on the desk before him. He paused in his intense scrutiny of the sharp weapon and spoke without turning around.

"What do you need, Alfred? I'm a little occupied at the moment." His voice was flat and without any emotion.

The English butler ignored the pointed comment and spoke in his crisp accent. "I'm sorry to disturb your weaponry inspection, but if I remembered correctly, you were going to see-"

"I have a meeting in an hour. Call up Dr. Thompkins and tell her I can't make it today." Bruce's voice was still monotone and he would not look at Alfred. But the batarang whirled faster and faster in his fingers, a clear indication of agitation from the otherwise stoic man.

"Sir." The single word was brimming with sharp reproach.

"What would you have me do Alfred? Going changes nothing." The batarang dropped to the ground and Bruce was up on his feet, his massive frame towering over the slight figure of the old butler. Despite his deceptively calm tone, Bruce's stormy blue eyes were blazing with anger and his hands curled and uncurled like steel traps.

Alfred stared back unflinchingly and after a few moments, placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Master Bruce, I know how hard this is for you, God knows how hard this is for me." Alfred's eyes grew wet but he mastered himself and forged on. "But this is for him and you know he needs us."

Bruce's muscular shoulders slumped and all of the anger burned out, leaving nothing but a hunched over man broken by guilt and despair.

"You're right, Alfred. I failed him back then but I will never make that mistake ever again."

"Of course not, I'm certain he knows that." Alfred said with a faint smile.

"Get the car ready, Alfred."

"Yes sir."

Bruce picked up the batarang, stowed it in his pocket and strode out of the living room, his face tight and stony.

The cool hospital corridors were white and brightly lit but the faint smell of antiseptic and blood made Bruce tense. Dr. Leslie Thompkins walked in front of them, her light footsteps echoing down the hallway as she led them deeper into the medical facility. Nurses in green scrubs rushed past them, pushing gurneys of patients and conversing with one another in urgent, serious voices.

"How is he?" Alfred asked. The old butler voiced the question that Bruce couldn't bring himself to utter.

Leslie stopped and was quiet for a moment, as if carefully choosing her next words. Bruce's uneasiness rose and he fought the urge to shake the gray-haired doctor until she answered him.

"He's getting worse." Leslie said frankly. "He is unable to recognize any of the hospital personnel and doesn't respond to his surroundings anymore. We've had to sedate and restrain him on multiple occasions because of the harm he was causing himself."

Bruce walked past her before she even finished her diagnosis and disappeared down the white-tiled hallway, shouldering aside staring nurses. Alfred and Leslie stared after him in shock before they took off after him.

"Bruce, Bruce wait! I can't let you run around the hospital by yourself!" Leslie shouted after the billionaire's retreating figure.

"I think that might have been a _little_ too blunt, Dr. Leslie." Alfred said, slightly out of breath from running.

"What? He'll have to know the truth sooner or later. There's no use babying someone like Bruce." Leslie retorted.

The two reached Bruce, who was standing stock-still and looking through a one-way window. Inside, a figure wrapped in a straitjacket lay on their side in the middle of a padded room like a broken toy. Only those familiar with Bruce would be able to see the pain that broke across his rugged face as he stared at the prone form.

"Bruce, there's still hope. We haven't tried all treatments yet." Leslie tried to comfort the large man and cautiously placed a hand on his broad shoulder. With a chill, she could remember doing the exact same gesture for a little boy who had stared unseeing at the world around him. It had been so many years ago but she could still see the expression of indescribable torment on the boy's young face. It sent shivers down her spine to see that same expression carving out deep lines and grooves on Bruce's adult face.

"I'll be a few rooms down so call me if you need anything." This was against hospital protocol but the pain in Bruce's eyes was too raw, too private for her to be witnessing.

After Leslie had left, Bruce leaned his head against the window and sighed, a long troubled sigh that left a perfect circle of fog against the cold glass.

"It'll be all right, Master Bruce. He'll come back to us one day." The butler's voice was subdued.

Bruce didn't reply to Alfred's hopeful words. He rested his hand against the window, as if wanting to reach through the glass to touch the person inside before letting his hand slide back down.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey all! I know this chapter is a little long but I have exposition and stuff to set up, ya know? Anyways, I hope you like the story so far and please let me know what you think through reviews, as reading your reviews is what gives me inspiration to continue! I'll try to update every 1-2 weeks so see you soon!_

Chapter 1: Familiar Faces

Robin yawned and stretched out his arms and legs like a lazy cat. The Young Justice team had just finished a routine patrol of the city to make sure everything was peaceful and under control. He had been pining for some action so he had been highly disappointed when the usual baddies seemed to have taken the night off. Robin rolled onto his side so he was resting on one elbow and could look down the side of the massive skyscraper he was on. Below him was a glittering galaxy of buildings and luminous cars that raced across the roads like blazing comets.

The rest of the Young Justice team often wondered why Robin liked the long night patrols when he'd have school early the next morning. He enjoyed the tedious patrols because of moments like this, when he could climb the tallest skyscrapers and watch the radiant city twinkle like a million stars. And though Robin enjoyed hanging out with his teammates, there was a core part of him that craved the distance and peace the lofty vantage point gave him. Up here, he was neither Robin the hero nor the young ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne; he was just a normal boy watching the city lights and reveling in the cool wind that blew his hair back. He closed his eyes, savoring the freedom before his earpiece started beeping insistently. Robin sighed and pressed the earpiece to let the call come through.

"Robin, come in, we are in need of your assistance." Aqualad's accented voice was faint but understandable.

"I'll be right down. Can't you guys do anything without me?" Robin complained in a teasing tone.

There was a pause before Aqualad responded. "I apologize Robin, maybe I'll let Kid Flash take the lead on this mission." The Atlantean sounded serious but Robin could hear an undercurrent of laughter in his words.

"No no no Kal, I'm coming. If you let KF lead, he'll probably lead us to the nearest candy shop."

"I await your presence then. We are by the north entrance to the city, near the central park." The communication cut off.

"I'm just too popular for my own good." Robin muttered as he straightened his costume and brushed gravel off his cape.

He pulled out his grapple gun, secured the hook to the edge of the skyscraper before throwing himself into empty space. Batman would have chewed him out for being reckless but hey, he wasn't in the mood for the stairs or a long ride down the elevator in costume. Besides, if he was completely honest with himself, he loved the feeling of swinging through the air like the trapeze artist he used to be.

The cityscape blurred into streaks of dazzling colors as Robin expertly swung through a confusing maze of alleys with the grapple gun. It was a tricky balance between sound judgment and fast reflexes but Robin relished the challenge. He watched his reflection shimmer across glass-paned buildings and he laughed with joy at the exhilarating speed he was traveling at. All too soon, he reached the northern entrance of the city and spotted the familiar figures of Aqualad, Kid Flash and Miss. Martian.

A mischievous smirk stole across Robin's mouth as he silently glided above his oblivious friends and into a dark alleyway. He landed noiselessly and snuck up behind the yellow-suited Kid Flash, who was flirting shamelessly with an uncomfortable Miss. Martian, before latching onto his friend's back with a loud roar. Kid Flash screamed and ran at super speed around the city intersection while flailing his arms.

"Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" Kid Flash kept yelling as an alarmed Miss. Martian took to the air in surprise. Robin lost his grip on his friend and flew off to land on his back in a cackling heap on the sidewalk. Kid Flash stopped his indiscriminate thrashing and stared at the black-haired boy who was still snorting with laughter on the pavement.

"Robin? What-? How-? Robin!?" Kid Flash's face flushed with embarrassment until it almost matched his ginger hair. He launched himself at Robin only to be restrained by Aqualad's tattooed arms. Miss. Martian floated back down and tried to stifle the giggles that kept escaping her quivering lips. Robin got up and brushed dirt off his uniform in an attempt to stop laughing.

"Sorry KF, couldn't help it. I didn't know you had such an amazing falsetto. You gotta sing like that again for us some time." He broke off when Aqualad gave him a hard nudge in the ribs and a sharp look.

"Dude, I know I'm hot, but please keep your hands off the bod!" Kid Flash sighed in disgust and flipped his goggles over his eyes. "I swear some people still belong in preschool."

Robin attempted to look penitent but it didn't take a mind reader like Miss. Martian to see that he wasn't sorry at all.

Aqualad cleared his throat and shot another glare at Robin as if to make sure he was still behaving. Robin clasped his hands together demurely and looked back at the frowning Atlantean with an angelic smile.

"I called you all back because I received a distress call from a manager at a water treatment facility. Their building provides treats and circulates most of the city's water supply." Aqualad began. He pulled out a thick, metallic disk and pressed a button so that a blue hologram of a cement building flickered to life.

"Where are Superboy and Artemis?" Miss. Martian asked.

"They are stuck in previous engagements and will try to rejoin us at a later time. However, the task at hand seems fairly straight-forward and will only require the four of us."

Miss. Martian's face fell but Kid Flash's face lit up.

"A mission with Miss. Martian and no Superboy and Artemis? This is the best night ever!" He whispered to Robin, forgetting he was still mad at his friend.

"Kid Flash, stay focused!" Aqualad scolded.

"Whoops, sorry!"

"As I was saying, the manager reported a break in to the central control room from several armed hostiles." The holographic building spun in a circle and zoomed in on an area outlined in red located near the bottom level. "The police department managed to evacuate the premises and subdue and incarcerate the intruders but they want us to sweep the building for remaining enemies. They mapped out some of the areas that have not been cleared yet." Various points in the building structure flashed urgently and the other three heroes studied them carefully.

"Were the intruders human?" Robin asked as he finally sobered up.

"It appears so."

"So why do they need our help? It seems that they have everything under control." Robin said.

"It appears that the hostiles were also carrying a large amount of unknown objects and the police want us to head over to see if we can help identify them." Aqualad flicked off the hologram and looked back at the team. "Any questions?"

They all looked at each other but no questions were raised.

"All right. Miss. Martian, please ready your ship, we should arrive there in 15 minutes."

 _"And I thought KF's room needed a serious makeover."_ Robin thought, his teasing voice clearly echoing through the mental communications Miss. Martian had set up.

 _"What's that supposed to mean!? My room is the definition of a makeover."_

The water plant had once been a tall, cylindrical building built out of gray cement but a series of gaping holes had been blown through the sides and foundations of the structure. Jagged pieces of rubble and broken machinery and furniture were strewn across the parking lot in a wide radius of destruction. Fluttering strands of yellow caution tape cordoned off sections of the building and pulsing police car lights lit up the scene with garish shades of blue and red.

 _"Why did the intruders cause so much damage? They could have easily broken in through the front door instead of wasting time blowing the walls apart."_ Miss Martian remarked as they picked their way over the colossal mess.

 _"Why do bad guys ever do anything? They clearly have a few screws loose in the old brain box."_ Kid Flash knocked his head for emphasis and went cross-eyed.

 _"You seem to know an awful lot about it, KF. First-hand experience?"_ Robin smirked and threw a playful jab at the yellow-suited speedster.

 _"Ha ha ha, I learned it all from a_ certain _idiot."_ Kid Flash blocked the jab and gave Robin the evil eye.

 _"I'd like to meet them, they sound awesome."_ Robin thought with a straight face.

 _"Enough. There will be enough time for jokes after we have completed the mission."_ Aqualad reprimanded. _"Let's split the team into two-man groups in case we run into trouble."_

 _"I'll go with Miss. Martian!"_ Kid Flash slid a flirtatious glance at M'Gann who, like usual, looked uncomfortable with his attention. _"Some one-on-one time in a trashed water plant. I can't think of a more romantic place for a private date."_

 _"Dude, you're really creepy."_ Robin thought.

 _"How!?"_ Kid Flash demanded indignantly.

 _"Sorry Kid Flash but I don't think that's a good idea. You'll get too distracted and become a possible liability to yourself as well as Miss. Martian."_ Kid Flash flushed but didn't say anything. _"Miss. Martian, you'll go with Robin and I'll work with Kid Flash."_

The green-skinned Martian looked relieved and shared a quick smile with Robin.

 _"I can search take the top floors with Miss. Martian. The floors might be unsteady and as Miss. Martian can fly, it'll be safer if we search there."_ Robin directed this suggestion towards Aqualad.

 _"What about you?"_ Kid Flash demanded. _"Unless you've mutated in the last three hours, you can't fly."_

 _"Please KF, I spent the first few years of my life walking on tightropes. I think I can handle this."_ Robin smirked confidently.

 _"All right, you and Miss. Martian can search the upper floors but be careful. Keep in contact with the mental link and report back to the bottom floor in an hour."_

The team separated and streamed towards the ruined water plant. Aqualad and Kid Flash moved towards an agitated throng of plant workers and policemen on the outside of the building while Miss. Martian levitated herself and Robin through a smashed window in the upper floors. The two heroes landed in small office that had been utterly trashed with broken glass crackling under their feet. Robin switched on a small but intense flashlight and swung it in a quick 360 around the room. They examined the walls where there were numerous several small, even holes.

 _"Bullet holes. I guess there was a really intense firefight here."_ She observed quietly. Robin knelt down and picked up some metallic objects on the ground that glinted in the flashlight. _"What are those?"_ Miss. Martian asked.

 _"Bullets. Looks like one of the intruders were using a MP5 as the police usually carry handguns."_ Robin pocketed squinted down at round pieces of metal to see if they were any other clues.

 _"Is that important?"_

 _"Well, it means that this was definitely a premeditated attack that required both planning and some form of transportation as these guns are pretty hard to conceal. I'm assuming they had bombs or some sort of rocket launcher to have been able to blast through the bottom walls."_ Robin speculated. He pocketed the bullets for further investigation later.

 _"But I still don't understand why they would target a water plant? There isn't anything worth stealing here so they put a lot of thought and effort into simply destroying the building."_ Miss. Martian carefully started moving around the small room to search for more evidence.

 _"We'll have to check in with Kid Flash and Aqualad to see if they've found anything. Aqualad, Kid Flash!"_ Robin called out through the mental communications to their other two teammates.

 _"What is it Robin?"_ Aqualad's calm voice resounded in their heads.

 _"Have you learned anything from the police yet?"_

 _"Nothing yet as we've been searching the bottom floors. Anything on your end?"_

 _"Nothing so far either but we haven't inspected the other parts of this level yet."_

 _"Hurry up, dude! I want to finish in time to see the game tonight."_ Kid Flash moaned in frustration.

 _"Your wish is my command, Master KF."_ Robin mimicked a certain English butler almost perfectly.

 _"Very funny. You better not be hitting on Miss. Martian while I'm gone."_

Robin smiled sheepishly at Miss. Martian as they left the room together and into a large, dark room that reverberated with the sound of dripping water.

 _"You know you can tell Kid Flash to lay off if he's being too forward. He's a good pal but he can go overboard."_ Robin shone his flashlight into the gloomy depths of the room, illuminating large water pipes that snaked around the musty-smelling space.

Miss. Martian sighed and rubbed her temples as if her head hurt. _"I know but I don't want to make him feel bad."_

 _"Don't worry, KF has a thick skin. Not too much bothers that guy."_

 _"Except for Artemis."_ Miss. Martian thought mischievously.

" _Haha! Not many people can throw Kid Flash off stride like our Artemis."_

The two stopped talking for a moment to survey some smashed pipes and broken tanks that blocked their advance. It looked like the work of some gigantic monster instead of humans and the scale of the damage put both heroes on edge.

Miss. Martian eyes glowed green as she telekinetically lifted the mess to the side to let them continue. They walked forward with more caution, alert for the sound of a footstep or the click of a gun. The room was far bigger than Robin had initially thought and he was feeling tense from the suffocating darkness and claustrophobic pipes. His eyes darted around and he was vigilant with his flashlight for the massive pipes offered too many good hiding places for an ambusher.

Finally, Robin and Miss. Martian were forced to stop for there was a partial cave-in from the roof above and enormous pieces of stone and broken pipes piled up to the ceiling had blocked their advance forward.

 _"Great, now what?"_ Robin inspected the blockage for handholds or crevices for his grapple gun. However, when he tried to climb up, loose pieces of rubble gave way from under his hands and he slid back down.

 _"I don't want to shift anything as it could bring the whole pile down on our heads. Do we need to go farther in? We could always sweep the other three upper floors first and then come back."_ Miss. Martian suggested.

 _"If we can't find a way over this then we can go to the upper floors."_

 _"I could you lift you up telekinetically and then you and I could try to squeeze through the gaps."_

 _"Too risky, if we disturb the pile too much, we could get caught in an avalanche."_

Stymied, Robin and Miss. Martian glanced at the obstacle again, trying to think of a way through. Miss. Martian smacked herself in the head and said her trademark "Hello Megan!" out loud.

 _"I can shape shift to fit through the cracks but the only problem is that I'd have to go alone."_

 _"I'm not a huge fan of that idea. I think it's a little dangerous for us to be alone in a place like this."_ Robin rubbed his chin and tried to think of an alternative solution.

 _"It'll be okay, I just make a quick round and if I run into trouble, I'll come right back."_ Miss. Martian reassured him. _"Don't worry Robin, I can handle myself!"_

 _"All right, but make it quick and take my flashlight!"_

Miss. Martian's eyes glowed green again and her molecules vibrated her body elongating into a narrow whip before flowing through an opening in the rubble. Uncomfortable with the complete darkness, Robin fished around in his utility belt and took out a spare glow stick and cracked it, releasing an eerie green illumination.

 _"Miss. Martian, see anything?"_ He asked, trying to shake off a growing sense of unease.

 _"Nothing yet, just a whole lot of pipes and broken machinery. I should be back in a couple minutes."_

Robin's sharp ears caught a faint shifting noise and he jerked his head around, trying to pinpoint where it had come from. He listened more intently and only heard the soft sounds of dripping water but he felt like someone was watching him. With one hand on his eskrima sticks and the other hand holding the glow stick aloft, he advanced towards where he had heard the sound.

 _"Miss. Martian come back, we might have a ho-"_

Robin cut off the thought as he heard a muted footstep from behind him and he whirled around, dropping the glow stick and pulling his eskrima sticks into position. Nobody was there and Robin cursed himself for being too paranoid.

 _"Robin!? Is everything okay? I'm on my way back!"_

 _"Sorry, I'm just a little jumpy. There doesn't seem to be anyone-"_

"I'm over here, bird boy." The familiar, gravelly voice hit Robin like a hammer and he turned around slowly. Casually leaning against a slanted piece of ceiling, there the man stood, in a greasy blue suit and wide rimmed fedora that hid his face.

"Tony Zucco." Robin said through clenched teeth, his hands tightening around his weapons.

"At your service." The mob boss lifted his face to the dim light of the glow stick and Robin could see the hateful, lean face leering at him. Zucco's differently colored eyes seemed to pierce through his disguise, through every single wall Robin had built to block out a memory too horrific to remember.

"So, it looks like the circus brat is all grown up and thinks he's a hero now." Zucco sneered, a toothpick hanging out of his thin lips.

"Looks like dead men have learned how to walk. What's a corpse like you doing here?" Despite the confident comeback, Robin was trembling as an overwhelming miasma of hatred, fury and fear coursed through him. He could hear it, the snap of the trapeze wires, the trailing screams of his parents and the sickening thump that still echoed in his nightmares.

"Wouldn't you like to know? I'm afraid my answer would blow your little birdbrains sky-high. But maybe you'd want that? To join your circus parents in whatever little paradise they're in?"

Robin's control shattered and he launched himself with a strangled yell at the smiling Zucco. His sticks hit the spot where the mob boss had just been, breaking it in two.

"Too slow circus brat. Thought you would be a little quicker than that." Zucco was near a doorway to a stairwell that Robin hadn't seen before. He gave a mocking wave before disappearing up the stairs as silently as a ghost.

 _"Robin! What's going on? Robin, where are you!?"_

The vigilante ignored Miss. Martian's panicked voice, scooped up the glow stick, secured it to his belt and took off after Zucco. His legs grew tired but he forced his well-conditioned body onwards after Zucco's retreating figure. The shadows of hunter and hunted flickered on the stairwell walls like jerky marionettes of a demented puppet master. The criminal exited at the top level and Robin chased him through a room filled with numerous pumps and turbine engines. Robin was steadily drawing closer to Zucco and once he was within range, he threw several exploding batarangs, not caring if they directly hit the mob boss. The batarangs embedded in the turbines next to Zucco exploded, showering the ground with bits of hot metal, but Zucco seemed unharmed and he even chuckled nastily at the miss.

Robin wasn't discouraged and he launched himself in a flying tackle and caught Zucco's foot, bringing the both of them to a tumbling halt on the ground. Zucco half-rose and attempted to pull a pistol out of his belt but Robin slammed him back on the ground and twisted his wrist behind his back until he dropped the weapon.

"What are you doing back here, Zucco? There aren't any circuses for you to crash." Robin said in a dangerously calm voice. The criminal snickered and tried to wrestle himself free. Robin backhanded him hard in the face, a long-buried rage pumping through his body like molten steel and making his vision go red.

"I said what are you doing here?" He punched Zucco so hard he felt the skin on one of his knuckles split. A dark, wrathful side of Robin rejoiced at the pain he was inflicting on his parents' killer but his more reasonable side finally held him back.

"I'm just bait, circus brat." Zucco choked out through bloody lips. One of his eyes was swollen shut but his blue eye was still open and shining with manic glee. "And you took it line, sinker and hook." Fast as a snake, Zucco pulled out a switch and flipped it. Robin's eyes widened as he saw a small bomb attached to Zucco's lapel and threw himself sideways as the mob boss exploded with a deafening boom. He wrapped himself in his cape as flaming bits of the engines and turbines came raining down like deadly hail.

However, Robin didn't have time to think about Zucco's death for with a thrill of horror, he felt the floor tilting and giving way beneath him. He fumbled for his grapple gun but a tremor shook it out of his unsteady hand and he yelled as he rolled towards a massive hole where Zucco had just been. Robin scrabbled around for a handhold but the slanting ground was smooth concrete and he couldn't get a purchase against it. His glow stick came undone from his belt and it rolled into the abyss so that the Boy Wonder was left in near darkness.

 _That's why Zucco went up another level; it was to get me to a high place so he could pull this off!_ He realized this with a sickening jolt and cursed himself for his stupidity.

"Gotcha!" A strong hand grabbed his and he was forcefully pulled upwards away from the hole. Robin looked up at his savior and saw a familiar ponytail of thick blond hair.

"Artemis?" The green-clad archer had a rope around her waist and her face was tight with exertion as she swung the two of them across the crumbling floor back to the stairwell entrance.

"I thought you weren't coming until later!" Robin exclaimed in surprise.

"I changed my mind and can we please move? I'd love to catch up but I'd like to stay alive even more!" Artemis shouted. The two ran down the stairs at breakneck speed as rubble and dust from the collapsing level rushed down the stairwell in pursuit.

 _"Everyone evacuate the building, the top floor is coming down!"_ Robin shouted through the communication link.

 _"I leave you alone for ten minutes and you're bringing down the entire place!"_ Kid Flash complained.

 _"What happened Robin? Are you okay?"_ Robin felt a sharp pang of guilt when he heard Miss. Martian's worried voice. He had completely forgotten about his teammate and abandoned her to chase after Zucco.

 _"Sorry Miss. Martian, I'll have to tell you later!"_

Robin could hear the avalanche of stones and metal rumbling ominously near and he tackled Artemis out into the second level of the building. Half a heartbeat later, a massive torrent of rubble flowed down the rest of the stairs, blocking their way down.

"Great, now what?" Artemis looked around for an alternative exit, her hands nervously fiddling with her bowstring. The floor shifted slightly and the two heroes looked at each other before glancing at a grease-covered window directly in front of them. Robin nodded slightly and Artemis whipped up her bow in one fluid motion, releasing her arrow into the window. The cloudy glass shattered in a starburst of silver shards, flooding the room with red and blue police lights.

"Ladies first." Robin bowed gallantly to the archer and she rolled her eyes as she collapsed her bow and threw it, along with her quiver, out the window.

"You better leave right after me!"

Artemis took a running start before gracefully diving through the jagged hole and into the flashing night beyond. Robin waited to hear a faint thud and a call of confirmation from her before diving through the window. The wind whistled through his ears and he had a sensation of terrifying yet exhilarating weightlessness as he tumbled through the air like an acrobat. As Robin's feet touched the ground, he bent his knees, leaned forward and rolled over his right shoulder so that the force of his landing was spread over his back.

Robin rolled to his feet with practiced ease and saw Artemis looking at the collapsing water plant with her hands braced on her hips. Most of the crowd that had been there before had fled out of terror but several brave police officers had remained.

"Well that was fun, let's do that again somet- ow!" Artemis had cuffed him on the head none-too-gently.

"What were you doing up there _Boy Wonder_? You almost got yourself killed and I thought the mission was surveillance, not demolition!" She sketched sarcastic quotes around "Boy Wonder" with her fingers as she spoke.

"We were supposed to check for any more intruders so I'd say that mission was a success. Anyone left in there would not be feeling the aster." Robin gestured at the building that hunched forward like an old man. "And how did you get here so fast?"

"I was supposed to be at something but I managed to wriggle out of it so I came after you guys as fast as I could. When I got here Miss. Martian told me that you went off by yourself so we split up to search. Luckily I came or you wouldn't have been feeling the aster yourself."

They both heard a rush of air and when they turned around, Kid Flash was next to them.

"Aw crap, _you're_ here!? This was supposed to be a good night!" Kid Flash groaned and dropped to his knees dramatically.

"For your information, Kid Brain, I just saved your pal from breaking his neck."

"She did save me KF." Robin said. Artemis looked smug at his confession and smirked at Kid Flash.

"Dude! You're not supposed to take her side!"

"Robin, what happened?" Aqualad and Miss. Martian came running out of the gloom. Miss. Martian's amber eyes swept up and down Robin as if to make sure he was all right.

Robin smiled at her reassuringly then mouthed _Sorry!_ The Martian shook her head and smiled back warmly.

"Robin?" Aqualad prompted.

"Miss. Martian and I were patrolling the upper floor when we reached an area that was impassable for me so Miss. Martian shape-shifted through for a quick inspection."

"You separated?" Robin squirmed a bit under Aqualad's accusing gaze.

"Yeah, I know I shouldn't have done that." He admitted uncomfortably.

"You mean we shouldn't have done that. I agreed to the plan too." Miss. Martian spoke up in defense of her teammate.

There was a disapproving pause in which Robin and Miss. Martian shifted awkwardly. "What happened next? Aqualad finally asked.

Robin explained the rest of the story but left out one important detail; the fact that he knew the criminal. Zucco was too familiar, too close to his past for him to talk about with the team.

"What worries me is that we still do not understand why these intruders ambushed the water plant. I also don't understand why the criminal you chased chose to appear to you and why he was so focused on killing you with his bomb." Aqualad mused out loud.

"What are you getting at?" Kid Flash asked with a puzzled expression on his face. "If you haven't noticed, baddies always go for us. Must be something to do with the costumes."

"Maybe it's just your costume." Artemis muttered snidely. Kid Flash glared at her but didn't comment. Aqualad ignored them both and scrutinized Robin with his pale eyes.

"You claim that this man had a bomb attached to him the entire time but why did he wait until he was alone with you? Why did he not detonate it outside where the survivors were or try to lure the four of us to him first?"

"Maybe he was too stupid to think that far ahead?" Robin lied with a straight face. _Why does Aqualad have to be so damn sharp?_ Seeing that the Atlantean looked unconvinced, he changed tactics.

"Were the workers and police able to tell you anything?" He asked, seeking to distract Aqualad but it was Kid Flash who answered.

"Nah dude, not much. The workers all said they heard and felt the explosions before the lights went out. Luckily, they were able to alert the police and evacuate out through the back before too many of the intruders came in." Kid Flash rummaged around his costume before pulling out a clear bead about the width of a dime. "And look, it's shiny!"

"What is that?" Robin demanded, swiping it from Kid Flash's grip.

"Hey, that's _my_ souvenir!" The speedster snatched it back.

"What are you, six?" Artemis demanded.

"That makes me a couple years older than you, sweet cheeks."

"You fuc-"

Aqualad spoke up, cutting Artemis off. "The police found these beads on the hostiles and found some in the pipes as well. It looks like the criminals were trying to contaminate the city's water supply though these objects seem harmless."

"We can run a couple of chemical tests on them when we get back to the Cave." Robin suggested.

"If nobody else has anything to add, I think we should head back to the Cave through the nearest Zeta tube."

"Oh yeah, I have some souvenirs of my own." Robin pulled out the bullets that he had found earlier.

"Huh, they look like they're from MP5s, maybe from an A5 or A3 model." Artemis said as she took one from him to examine more closely. She looked up to find the team staring at her.

"What? I don't just have to be interested in bows and arrows!" The archer said defensively.

"Who would've thought Green Arrow's niece was such a gun junkie." Kid Flash teased.

"Oh shut up!" Artemis gave the bullet back to Robin. "Can we go now? I kind of have school tomorrow and I don't want to spend the entire time drooling on my desk."

"Yes, my apologies for calling you all out here so late. Let me just update the police on our investigations so far." Aqualad walked over, speaking seriously with one of the remaining officers on the scene.

"Aw maaaan! There's no chance I'll catch the game now." Kid Flash looked disgruntled as the five heroes walked back into the glittering city to a dark alley where a dilapidated phone booth waited for them.

In the next few minutes, most of the team had disappeared with brilliant flashes of white light. Robin lingered, gazing at the entrance of the alley uneasily. Though he had tried to push away thoughts of Zucco, Robin could still see the blue-suited figure lurking in the blurs of his peripheral vision.

 _He's gone, Robin. You brought him to justice a long time ago._ The voice sounded like Batman's and Robin had to smile wryly. Hundreds of miles away from his mentor and Bats still drove him crazy.

He stepped into the Zeta tube and as the white light engulfed his vision, he couldn't shake off the feeling that a pair of blue and brown eyes watched him from the shadows.

"Recognized, B01, Robin."


	3. Chapter 3

_Snowbengal reporting for very very late duty! Hey all, I'm super sorry for the long wait for this chapter but I've been extremely busy these past few weeks. Blah blah, I know I'm making excuses….Anyways I know this chapter is a little short on action but I PROMISE that I will upload the next chapter as soon as possible. I was planning on writing more but it felt like too much would be tacked onto this chapter. As always, thank you so much for reading my fanfic and another big thank you for those who reviewed/followed/favorite my story, it honestly makes my day! If you like what you're reading so far, please keep reviewing, I love reading what you guys have to say._

Chapter 2

 _Robin watched the black silhouettes of his parents plummeting through the glare of white spotlights. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out as the scene unfolded with the blurry slowness of the dream world. Before his parents hit the ground, dark curtains swept across the circus stage and the blinding lights intensified into cloud-soft walls that seemed to shrink in on him._

 _A drowsy terror swam through him and he reached into his utility belt for an exploding batarang to cut through the amorphous walls. Before he could pull it out, the room dimmed and the floor gave way into a black hole that sucked away all the whiteness like milk swirling down a drain. Robin ran into the darkness and suddenly he was a child again, rubbing tears away from his face with small, fragile fingers._

 _Illuminated before him was a familiar door that had been caved inwards as if with a powerful kick. Robin's mouth went dry with remembered fear and he reached up to slowly turn the knob with both of his tiny hands. As the door opened, an onslaught of images crashed through the Boy Wonder's head._

 _A dilapidated tiled hallway with a trail of broken needles and orange fluid glittering on the ground. His mother talking to air, gesturing frantically with her hands while staring about with glazed blue eyes. A trapeze bar swinging hypnotically above him, rusty handprints staining the white wood. His father's face half-hidden by shadows from a broken lamp on the floor._

 _The dented door opened and Robin saw a red bathroom that had once been white. Smears and trails of blood covered the walls and floor in garish and almost cartoony patterns. Looking closer, the seemingly random splashes of red were handprints and footprints as if there had been some terrible struggle. The shower curtains were wrinkled and spotted with more red that ran down the plastic material like a gentle rain._

 _In a daze, child Robin walked into the bathroom and stood still amid the red carnage. He looked up at the mirror over the sink only for it to shatter into a thousand pieces that sprayed all over the floor. Still numb, he looked down to see countless blue eyes staring back at him in a fractured parody of his face._

"Robin, wake up!" The costumed vigilante's eyes flew open to see Miss. Martian's worried face hovering over him. She had him by the shoulders and was still shaking him.

"M'Gann?" Robin was disoriented and when he reached up to push his sweaty bangs out of eyes, he could feel his mask still attached to his face. He struggled to push himself into a sitting position, untangling himself from blankets and sheets to find that he was still in uniform sans cape. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that." M'Gann said. Her face was paler than her normal green and she looked as shaken as Robin felt. As his thoughts cleared, he remembered that he was sleeping in Mt. Justice after M'Gann had offered him one of the spare bedrooms. Feeling too tired to refuse, he had followed Connor, who was disgruntled at missing an opportunity to smash things, into a spare room after sending Alfred a message.

"I had a nightmare." He attempted a shaky smile. "Dreamed about Batman as an opera singer. Can you imagi-?"

"Don't joke!" M'Gann was more serious than Robin had ever seen her. "Your dreams were so strong they spilled into my own. And earlier, you were lying about not knowing the criminal, weren't you? I could feel your emotions through the mental link when you were chasing him down."

Robin sighed internally, it was no use trying to fool the telepathic of the team. He felt uneasy and a little exposed while wondering how much M'Gann had seen of his dreams.

"Yeah, I did know the criminal from a past encounter." Robin admitted. "It's just that I have a complicated past with him."

There was a little pause but to his relief, she didn't ask him for more. "It could be important to the investigation though." The Martian suggested tentatively.

"Trust me, I don't think it's that important but it does explain why he only went after me." Robin really liked the sweet M'Gann but he wasn't ready to share his history with anybody besides Wally. She lapsed back into a pensive silence, her eyes faraway as if re-watching Robin's nightmarish reel of horrors.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" M'Gann asked, sounding a little like Alfred. She placed her hand on her teammate's, a comforting platonic gesture.

Surprisingly, the question brought a lump into the Boy Wonder's throat and he blinked rapidly before answering. "No, but thank you though. I think I've just been a little stressed lately. Midterms and bad guys don't mix as well as I thought they would even though they have the same purpose."

"What purpose is that?"

"To break you." Robin said with a deadpan face. The Martian smiled a little at his joke but grew somber again.

"If you ever do want to talk about anything, I'm right here."

"Thanks M'Gann, I'll remember that."

She got up and walked towards the door but paused, and then spoke without turning around.

"Some secrets can be like weeds. They're small and harmless at first but as time goes on, they grow and grow until they poison your body and utterly consume you."

Robin stared at M'Gann's figure outlined in the watery light from the Cave. She had a strange expression on her face and the pale illumination seemed to bleach her green skin white. "Good night, Robin." She closed the door gently, leaving the Boy Wonder to wrestle with his own thoughts.

After a few minutes, he sighed, got up, and headed for the showers. He was covered in sweat and there was no way he was going back to sleep and let the nightmares claim him again.

Thankfully, the bathroom was empty but Robin locked the door for good measure. He undressed and, after another cautious look at the locked door, peeled the domino mask away from his face. The spirit gum he usually used was worn away but it still hurt like hell to take the mask off without rubbing alcohol. Immediately, a throbbing headache pounded in his temples like red-hot hammers. Robin winced and groped for the shower knob as he massaged his aching head with his other hand.

"I need some Advil." He muttered to himself as the shower faucet sputtered to life, deluging him with a flood of icy water. He yelped but then closed his eyes and welcomed the cold spray on his feverishly hot face. As the water slid down his body, Robin rested his head against the blue wall tiles, too tired to scrub himself. Despite his efforts, flashes of his nightmare slashed through his brain like red shards of glass. Through the whirling maelstrom of images, Zucco's face rippled through like a malicious specter and Robin felt another surge of rage at the memory of the mob boss.

 _I haven't had nightmares like that since Scarecrow._ Robin reflected suddenly.

Unbidden, an image of the sinister villain invaded his thoughts.

" _My my, you've held up surprisingly well, little bird. Most people would have gone insane by now." The voice vibrated darkly like a spider's thread through the morass of sheer terror that shook Robin's body._

 _"Robin!" The scream was so strangled by fear, he couldn't tell who it was._

"No!" His eyes flew open and he slipped on the wet bathroom tiles to fall against the wall. Robin slid down to the floor with his hands over his face as an overwhelming sense of searing panic squeezed his insides. All attempts to calm down were wiped away in the face of such blinding fear and Robin was immobilized by the knowledge that he was going to die right then and there. His heartbeat sped up faster, faster, and faster; hammering at his chest until he thought it would burst from the effort. The blue walls closed in on him, crushing him into a helpless ball as he gasped for breath through his tightening chest as a loud roaring obliterated any sanity he had left. He knew it was going to happen soon. He was going to die. Death. The end. The point of no return. _I am going to die._

As he waited for death to find him, the panic began to ebb away leaving him trembling and sick with apprehension. The shower water was still on and it flooded across his face, suffocating him. He reached up, groping for the knob wildly until his unsteady fingers managed to wrench it to the off position. Shakily, Robin got up and threw on his civilian clothes without toweling off and left the showers.

Outside of the confining blue walls, his breathing and heartbeat finally began to decelerate though his previous headache still throbbed. Lost in thought, Robin walked aimlessly through the cavernous Cave with no particular destination in mind as he brooded upon what had happened.

He, the Boy Wonder, sidekick to the Dark Knight had just had a panic attack. The idea was so ludicrous that he wouldn't have believed it if not for the fact that his entire body was still shaking. But what disturbed Robin the most was the blinding fear of death that had immobilized him.

He had faced death many times before in countless forms and incarnations. Desperate criminals with nothing to lose, innumerable falls and tumbles from high buildings, a well-aimed shot from the Joker, an encounter gone wrong with Two-Face. But that was the price he paid for being a hero, the price they all paid for the dangerous job of cleaning the filth left by humanity's darkest sinners. Death had been a familiar, if unwanted, companion from the first moment he had taken the oath in a small, candlelit cave with Batman.

 _So why did I fear it so much? Did Scare-?_ Robin cut off the thought, fearful of triggering another panic attack. He nearly tripped over something and saw that he had unknowingly walked into the Cave's well-furnished gym/practice area. The sight of a trapeze jolted him out of his grim thoughts and he grinned a little. Robin loved using it but was didn't like to perform in front of his friends as it made him slightly self-conscious. But since no one else was awake at the moment so he took full advantage of the Cave's emptiness.

Two minutes later, Robin was flying through the air with all trace of fear erased from his acrobatic body. Feeling like a child again, the Boy Wonder's previous light-heartedness came back as the wind pushed his wet hair away from his smiling face.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, I had this almost done in my computer for a while but couldn't find the energy to finish it. I just got back from Nova Scotia and it was quite pretty there. Anyways, I decided to write a longer chapter this time to make up for my absence on the Fanfiction waves. I promise that things will pick up from this point so stick around. Also, big thank you to those who fav/follow this story, it really makes my day and gives me the motivation to keep writing. Please review if you have any thoughts and enjoy!_

"Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation."

Robin sighed, his chin drooping into his hand while he fought to keep his eyes open. He was tired from last night's drama and had only managed to sleep for a couple hours after what had happened in the showers. He watched blearily as the sweating professor pointed at two green-colored sections on the blown-up brain diagram projected onto a whiteboard. The projector was a little cracked so there was a thin spider web of lines on the glowing picture.

 _That definition was literally taken directly from Wikipedia…Yet teachers make us submit papers online to check for plagiarism, such hypocrisy._

The team's mental link was down but Robin was used to articulating his thoughts at this point and half-expected someone to answer. He recorded down notes about the hippocampus but more out of a sense of scholarly duty. He could've given the lecture himself since he already knew everything there was to know about the human brain, courtesy of Batman.

 _I guess having the dark avenger of Gotham hovering over your shoulder is a pretty good incentive to learn your lessons quickly._ Robin smirked wryly, remembering Batman's random pop quizzes. Robin would never quite forget the time Batman had interrogated him about how to defuse bombs while he had been in the bathroom. When the Boy Wonder had passionately protested about the violation of his natural rights, Batman had merely replied that heroes needed to be on their toes at all times. It was only with the timely intervention of Alfred that Batman had shifted his quizzes to less intrusive times.

Robin smiled at the memory but then hid a yawn as the professor rattled off more facts copied straight from Wikipedia. Despite his efforts at being nonchalant, the experience of the panic attack was like a faint but insistent itch he couldn't reach. The more he tried not to think about it, the more the memory tried to overwhelm him. In an effort to divert himself, he let his eyes wander until they settled on a familiar, red-haired figure three desks to the right.

Barbara Gordon looked attentive enough but he could see from the slump of her shoulders and the boredom glazing her navy eyes that she was having just as much fun as he was. Like him, she could probably recite the entire lecture to the class without all the rip-off Wikipedia quotes. She was one of the smartest people he had ever met (scarily so) and was cruising on a mostly unchallenged towards the position of valedictorian. Barbara caught him looking at her and gave him a flirtatious wink before turning her attention back to the front.

Robin's cheeks grew uncharacteristically warm and he hastily glanced away.

 _Good ole Babs, always manages to catch me on the wrong foot._ He thought ruefully. The Boy Wonder wasn't used to being caught off guard but with Barbara, he found that he didn't mind that much. He actually kind of enjoyed it…just a little though.

Robin spent another few minutes stealing glances at the graceful curves of Barbara's face, framed by full locks of her ginger hair. He sighed and turned his thoughts in more unpleasant directions as he mused about the destroyed water plant and the strange beads the team had found. Robin stared out a cracked window as he began to go through the familiar, nearly instinctual process of deductive reasoning that had been firmly instilled into him by the world's greatest detective.

 _First off, we'll need to interrogate the prisoners that were captured last night and find out what they now. Secondly, I can ask Commissioner Gordon for footage of the surrounding streets to see if there was a car that transported all those criminals. We'll also need to do a chemical sampling of those beads and find out what they are._

"-expression of fear and in the processing of fear-inducing stimuli. Fear conditioning, which is when a neutral stimulus acquires aversive properties, occurs within the right hemisphere."

Robin was jarred out of his contemplation and an icy tingle stroked his spine as he snapped his head up to look at the front. The professor was pointing at another section of the brain, which Robin knew to be the amygdala.

 _It's just a coincidence._ He reassured himself. _Calm down, she's just following the lesson plan._

However, when he looked back at the front, the professor was staring coldly at him, a narrow smile on her face. Alarmed, Robin looked around to see if she was looking at somebody else but her black eyes remained trained on him. Feeling extremely unnerved, he tried to get up and leave but he was paralyzed like a mouse under the predatory gaze of an eagle. The other students didn't seem to notice what was going on as they gazed off into space or scribbled into their notebooks.

" _Yes, the amygdala controls the autonomic response to fear."_ The professor's whispery voice caressed the last word of the sentence with chilling tenderness. The room began shimmering at the edges and twitching violently as if reality had crumpled in on itself.

Robin began to feel the first stirrings of panic and he strained to move his limbs from the strange paralysis that entangled them.

" _Why are you in such a hurry to leave? I'm afraid we're just starting the lesson. We're having a live demonstration today so we'll need a brave volunteer. Oh Robin, how kind of you to volunteer."_

The professor smiled an impossibly wide, manic smile and there was a black void where her teeth should have been. Her head violently jerked from side to side as the skin shriveled and black stiches sewed her mouth shut in a terrifying parody of a frown. She lifted her hands and caressed her rotting face. There was nothing human in her violent, puppet-like movements.

Robin felt the air vanish out of his lungs. His body went cold as he gazed upon at the nightmarish vision. He tried to close his eyes, to block out the horrific sight but he couldn't so much as twitch a muscle. He could feel the fear now. It had his throat in a deathly grip and made his stomach lurch in sick swoops.

" _What's wrong little hero, scared already? We haven't even gotten to the main part of the demonstration yet. I'm disappointed; I had such high hopes for my star student. We're going to find the meaning of true fear together, you and I, and I just can't wait for us to start."_ Her bottomless eyes widened, stretching the blackened skin on her forehead and tearing the stitches apart as white maggots squirmed out of the rents and fell to the floor. With an enormous, adrenaline-fueled effort, Robin broke free of his paralysis and opened his mouth to scream.

"And that will be all for today class. Remember to read chapters nine and thirteen for tomorrow and answer the review questions at the end." The professor said wanly.

Robin stared around the room, his breathing harsh and shallow as he wildly scanned the rows of students and then the professor. Everything looked like it was in place with the teacher's tired voice listing a few last facts about the temporal lobe.

When the bell rang, he quickly gathered his things and left the classroom unable to look again at the professor.

Outside, he seamlessly merged into the stream of laughing and chattering students on their way to their various classes. Everything was so normal, so mundane that it made him feel even more adrift in the tide of oblivious students.

 _What is happening to me? Am I…am I going crazy?_ The thought disturbed him deeply and he didn't notice a familiar figure fighting her way towards him.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me calling you?" Barbara had caught up to him. Her red hair was attractively tousled from her efforts to reach him.

"Sorry Babs, didn't hear you through this horde." Robin jerked a thumb at some particularly loud juniors trying to put each other in headlocks. He attempted to iron out the trembling in his voice but wasn't entirely successful. Barbara's eyes narrowed and she gave him a quick once-over.

"Is everything okay? You looked pretty out of it in class." She asked, sounding a little like M'Gann

"It's nothing. Just a little stressed out." He couldn't tell her what he had seen, she'd think he was bat-shit insane, no pun intended. And the experience was too raw and immediate for him to talk to, just remembering what had happened made his heartbeat speed up. "I didn't get much sleep last night and criminal activity has been pretty high."

"Late mission?" Barbara asked sympathetically. Robin was immensely relieved to see that she was distracted by his complaint and wasn't questioning his explanation.

"Yeah, some crazies decided to go to town on one of the city's major water plants."

"Did they contaminate the water?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"That's what we're going to find out later today if Wall Man is willing to do his magic."

"I still find it hard to believe that guy is one of the best in his chemistry classes. He just seems…" She trailed off meaningfully.

"Artemis would be glad to hear that someone agrees with her. But really, Wally's cool." Robin chuckled a little, feeling a small sense of normalcy returning.

"You can call me whenever you need help, it'll be a welcome break from listening to teachers spew badly-quoted information from Wikipedia." Barbara wrinkled her nose in contempt.

"You know you're always welcome to join the Team. We'd be glad to have you."

"No thanks, you know how protective my dad gets. I can barely go out for weekends as it is right now. Besides, what would I call myself? The Redhead Wonder? Sparrow?"

"They both have a certain charm." She rolled her eyes. "You just love playing hard-to-get with me, don't you Babs?" Robin said, only half-joking.

"Keeps you on your toes, doesn't it BJ?" She said with an impish smile.

"BJ?" He asked suspiciously.

Barbara looked around and then leaned in closer to him. He could smell the fruity shampoo she had used and his heartbeat sped up again, but in a far more pleasant way than it had in the classroom.

"BJ for Batman Junior. Fits doesn't it?

She laughed devilishly at his expression.

"You are not calling me that."

"We'll see, _BJ_."

"Yes we will, _Barbie_." Barbara scowled at that.

"Stupid dolls. My aunt kept giving those to me on my birthdays and I snipped their heads off with scissors."

"Wow, what did those Barbies ever do to you, you murderer? Wait, Barbie-Killer. That should be your costume name."

"I'll become the Boy-Killer if you don't watch yourself."

"I'm terrified." Robin said dryly. Barbara shoved him lightly and he laughed.

His cellphone, his team-issued one, chimed and he dug it out of his bag and scanned the screen. They used a specially encrypted cellphone as to not give away their civilian identities. Barbara discretely glanced at the screen as well.

"Meet Pho restaurant 4:30. Bring UR own $. The name is Andrea if you get there first. -A"

"What is it? Meeting up with your girlfriend Artemis?" She said it in a calm tone but Robin could hear a subtle note of jealousy. He tried not to feel too pleased about it.

"Something like that. I think Kal wanted us to get together to discuss plans but he doesn't really have the patience for phones. I'm sure they have a much more sophisticated way of communicating in Atlantis."

"Well, enjoy your date. I have to get to Geometry so see you later Boy Wonder." She blew him a sarcastic kiss before threading her way through various students and disappearing.

"See you Babs." Robin said softly. Without her comforting presence, he felt a crippling sense of isolation flood over him again and he could no longer keep up his casual front. Unbidden, he pictured the professor, the way her stitched mouth had spewed white maggots and his thoughts became bleak once more.

The rest of the day passed in fitful starts and bursts, as if an unsteady hand had rewound his internal clock. Robin was also starting to feel a quiet but increasing sense that was something was wrong.

By the time the last school bell rang, Robin was gripping his pencil with a white-knuckled grip and his neck and shoulders were a tight mass of stress. He got up slowly from his desk, wincing as his muscles uncoiled from their tense positions

 _I really need a nap._ Robin thought randomly as he swayed slightly. His surroundings were taking on the too-bright, oversaturated hues that signified when he was approaching his limit.

As fast as he could, he stumbled down the white hallways and into the school library before the main rush of students could block the passages. The library was a calm, spacious area filled with old books and shafts of dusty sunlight that streamed in from an overhead glass dome. Usually, there were plenty of desks and tables but students from study hall had already claimed many of the spots.

Robin finally found a table in a shadowy alcove near the back and hurried towards it eagerly. To his surprise, and amusement, he saw Artemis already sitting there with a history textbook in front of her. Her normally neat ponytail was a little messy and her face shadowed with weariness as she scanned the pages in front of her.

"Hey Ar-" He snapped his mouth shut as he remembered he wasn't supposed to know her. Robin debated whether he should approach her before deciding that he was far too tired to keep looking for tables.

"Excuse me. May I sit here and study with you?" He asked politely, stifling a laugh.

Artemis looked him over with gray eyes that hinted at her Vietnamese heritage.

"Yeah sure, go ahead." She furrowed her brow in confusion as Robin sat down across from her. "Do I know you from somewhere? You look really familiar."

"That's what everyone says. I must be pretty popular around here or have a memorable face." He gave her a quick wink. He could see Artemis frown and knew that she was biting back a sarcastic reply. God knows how often he heard her duking it out verbally with Wally.

"Kidding, I'm just a freshman so I don't know that many people yet. It's possible we've seen each other a couple times in the hallways or gym." He fought to keep his mouth from twitching at the word gym. _Technically that's true, we're just ahead of the curriculum._

"Maybe." She conceded reluctantly before turning back to her textbook.

Robin pulled out his Geometry binder and started crunching through some basic Trigonometry problems. However, his eyelids kept drooping and when his head fell towards the table, he didn't resist. He normally felt too exposed sleeping in school but Artemis's familiar presence was reassuring. _I'll just rest for a couple seconds, just a little sleep…_

" _Hey Dickie-bird, stop hiding behind the curtains and come out. We promised we would let you ride the trapeze, wouldn't we?"_

 _He peeked from around the blue, star-spangled velvet curtains and blinked at his father. John Grayson was standing near a ladder up to the colorful trapeze platform. His mother, Mary Grayson was already on the other platform and gazing into space with unfocused eyes while moving her lips slowly._

" _Shhhh! I'm hidin' from tha mob!" He had never seen the circus tent so empty and it gave him a delicious tingle to have it all to himself. He hid behind the curtains again and crawled in the dark space behind, giggling happily to himself._

" _Dick, come on, we don't have all the time in the world." There was a familiar edge to his father's voice and he felt a cold pit in his stomach. He tottered to his feet and ran out of the curtains to where his father was waiting._

" _Sowwy Daddy." He said quietly. His father looked stern and Dick noticed that there was a reddened patch of skin on his face._

" _It's okay, let's just climb the ladder. You like climbing ladders, don't you?"_

" _Yah!" He scampered up the rungs and to the top. The platform was painted with more stars and slightly squishy under his toes._

" _Whoaaaaa! You can see tha whol' circus!" He exclaimed, taking in the bird's eye view of the dark audience benches, hanging rings, spotlights, and other circus equipment. When he looked over the edge, the vibrantly colored floor looked far away and a lot like the crayon drawings he liked to give to his parents._

" _Yeah, it's good you have a head for heights. That means you'll be a natural acrobat." John ruffled his son's hair in a rare show of affection. "Now climb onto the trapeze, just like how we showed you in the gym, and hold tight."_

 _Excited, Dick grabbed the trapeze bar his father was offering and then hesitated, looking over at the distant figure of his mother. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could see how she spread her arms open invitingly._

" _Don't worry, I'll catch you Dickie-Bird!" He heard her call. Dick took deep breath, stepped back and then ran off into the open air._

" _Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!" He yelled, hearing his cry of delight echoing around the tent. It was absolutely wonderful, the very best feeling in the world. Better than chocolate ice cream or getting to stay up past bedtime to watch cartoons. He felt like he was flying, his body weightless and one with the air as his distant mother grew bigger and bigger._

 _Dick didn't want it to stop but it was over in flash. He gently tumbled into his mother's arms, laughing with pure joy._

" _Good job Dick, that was perfect!" His mother was also laughing and she kissed him on the cheek. A sour note of sadness tempered his happiness as he noticed a couple bruises on her face._

" _Can I do again?" He asked, stroking the bruises on her face with a small finger._

" _Of course, you have to fly back to your daddy." She hugged him close though, as if not wanting to let him go._

Disoriented, Robin woke up to Artemis zipping up her bag and leaving. His head felt as heavy as wool and he pawed at his bag, looking for his cellphone. The screen read 4:15 and Robin cursed himself for not setting a timer. After messily shoving his binder into his bag, he took off, earning himself a reproving glare from the librarian on duty.

As Robin tore down the hallways towards his locker, the feeling of the wind on his face made him reflect on his disturbingly vivid dream. He could still feel the warm ghost of his mother's embrace and smell the musty air trapped inside the circus tent.

 _I was three when I rode the trapeze for the first time so how did I remember so much?_

The dream hadn't been blurry or disjointed, the way childhood memories often were, but had been so detailed and sharp that it was like someone had loaded a movie reel into his head. It was an uncomfortable thought and he felt a shiver go through his body at the idea of an intrusion. _I'll have to think about this later._

Robin had reached his locker and he yanked out his civvies and hurried into the nearest bathroom. He changed into his more casual clothing then wet his fingers in the sink and mussed his hair out of the gel-slicked perfection Alfred insisted he kept it in. He checked his phone again and groaned: 4:24.

Robin slipped out of school through a side door and sprinted down the sidewalk with his bag banging up and down on his back. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't too far away and Robin was at peak fitness and speed for his age. Ahead, he could see Artemis walking at a leisurely pace and he called out to her.

At the last moment, he remembered his sunglasses and he slipped them on just as she turned to look at him. She was also wearing a pair of dark amber sunglasses that hid her eyes and complemented her caramel skin tone.

"Robin? Where'd you come from?"

"You know, school. Where did you come from? Isn't the Zeta tube in the opposite direction of where you're walking from?" He couldn't resist teasing her again.

"I uh, came to visit my, uh aun-, I mean cousin again." Robin could tell Artemis was squirming.

"Oh, your cousin." He made it plain he didn't believe her. "You two seem pretty close. Another spelling bee?"

"Nope, just hanging out, you know, cousin stuff."

"So is this Green Arrow's son or daughter? I didn't know he had kids."

"What?" She looked completely nonplussed. "He doesn't."

"Green Arrow is your uncle right, so isn't your cousin related to him?" He bit his lip to stop from laughing as an expression of dismay crossed Artemis's face at her blunder.

"Oh uh, Green Arrow has a sister. He doesn't really like to uh, talk about her."

"I see." Robin drew out the last word and Artemis shifted.

"You know what, we're going to be late if we keep chattering here." She spun around and stalked off. Robin followed at a slightly less fierce pace and the two reached a small restaurant that was tucked between two giant department stores.

The inside walls were covered with plastic, slightly tacky, ocean-themed wallpaper and the light was a hazy pink from the curtains that covered the windows. A Vietnamese waitress hurried up and smiled expectantly at them.

"Andrea, table for six at 4:30."

"Okay, I think three people are already here." She led them to a round table in the back where Connor, M'Gann, and Kaldur where already sitting.

"Hey Artemis, hey Robin!" M'Gann waved excitedly. The Martian always loved their outings to Earthly restaurants and it made her more bubbly than usual. Kaldur gave the two newcomers an acknowledging nod while Connor looked out the window, stoic as usual.

"Did you guys order yet?" Robin asked as he took a seat near Kaldur. He didn't want to be too close to M'Gann in case she could pick up his barely suppressed thoughts from the day.

"No, we were waiting for everyone to get here first. I think Wally said he was on his way." M'Gann explained.

"Figures that Kid Flash would be the last one to get here. I would laugh at the irony if I wasn't so annoyed." Artemis muttered.

"Did someone call for the famous Kid Flash? Need my autograph?" Wally had walked up to them and was standing right behind Artemis. She twisted around on the chair to glare at him.

"You're late, Kid Sloth."

"I'm not close to a Zeta Tube like the rest of you!"

"And you don't know how to run?"

"What kind of question is that?"

Artemis snorted and Wally took a seat next to Robin, the farthest from Artemis, and the two continued to glare at each other.

M'Gann broke the tense standoff by passing out menus that were somewhat sticky to the touch. "Well, at least we can order now!" She said with false cheer.

As they perused the selections, Kaldur spoke up for the first time.

"So how was school for everyone today?" The Atlantean was wearing a black turtleneck that emphasized his lean build and hid his tattoos and gills.

"All right, almost fell asleep a couple times though." Robin admitted. Artemis nodded in affirmation to his words.

"Same as Robin. Got bothered by an idiotic freshman in the library though. He sat down and promptly started drooling all over his homework." Robin choked on a glass of water he was sipping. Wally glanced at him and raised his eyebrows.

"My sympathy, I know the mission was at an inconvenient time." Kaldur directed his words towards the both of them

"Well my day was great. Hit on a couple of hot girls, aced my chemistry test and it was Meatloaf Tuesday." Wally said. He looked quite proud of himself.

"No one cares Wally." Artemis said rudely.

"Kaldur cares!" Wally adopted an expression of injured innocence. Kaldur coughed into his fist, a smile on his normally serious face.

"School was really fun! I had another practice session with the Bumblebees and they said I'm the best recruit they've had in a while." She beamed with infectious joy as the others murmured their congratulations.

"I'll bet you are." Wally said, tipping a wink at her.

"Connor how was your day?" Kaldur prompted the half-Kryptonian.

"School was a waste of time. I know practically everything from the Genomophs at Cadmus. I don't know why schools exist when you can directly program the information into your brain." Connor said and crossed his arms arrogantly.

M'Gann opened her mouth to retort but a waiter came up to take their orders. As soon as he left, M'Gann scowled at Connor.

"You don't just go to school just to learn, you go there to make friends and experience the environment!" She argued.

"Whatever. Still seems like a waste of time to me."

After that, the team sat at the table in silence until a different waitress tottered over with a precarious tray of food. Predictably, Wally had ordered the largest bowl of noodles and he wasted no time in dumping all the condiments into the fragrant soup.

Robin was a little slower and he took his time stirring in the basil leaf and bean sprouts into his beef tendon noodles. He watched as Artemis grabbed a glass bottle of red sauce and squirted it into her own bowl.

"What's that?" Connor asked, seeming uncharacteristically curious.

"Siracha, spicy sauce. It's not for the weak." The now orange soup swirled hypnotically in her bowl and Robin felt a cold shudder spasm up his back. A memory was fluttering in his head like a trapped butterfly but he pushed it away violently. He shook his head and focused on the challenge that was unfolding between Wally and Artemis.

"Not for the weak you say?" Wally had stopped eating and was eyeing the siracha.

"Don't try it, I don't think you could handle it." Artemis smiled like a wolf.

"Try me. I bet I could handle more than you." Wally snatched the bottle and added a huge dollop to his already overflowing bowl.

Never one to back down from an insult, Connor added some to his bowl as well.

"You want any?" He asked brusquely, shoving the bottle towards M'Gann. She blushed, their spat from earlier forgotten, and shook her head.

"No thanks. A Martian's weakness is fire, so I don't think I should try."

Robin and Kaldur also refused the siracha.

"I don't want to burn my mouth alive like you sadists." Robin remarked.

"Chicken." Wally muttered.

"I prefer beef." Robin shot back.

Kaldur, M'Gann and Robin all watched with baited breath as the three sipped from their bowls. The effect was immediate.

Artemis looked unaffected except for several sweat droplets that beaded along her nose. Wally's face turned almost as red as his hair and he began fanning his mouth at super speed. Connor's eyes bulged and he reached for his glass of water. He squeezed it too hard as he drank and it exploded in a musical tinkle of ice and glass. A waiter hurried over and cleaned up the mess as Connor apologized in a slightly agonized voice.

The other three waited until he had left before bursting into peals of laughter. Robin cackled uproariously as Wally juggled several ice cubes in his mouth while chugging water.

"I guess Kryptonians have two weaknesses: kryptonite and siracha. I'll keep that in mind for the future." He joked, earning a glare from Connor. The stress from earlier had melted away and even the nightmarish vision from the morning seemed remote next to the laughter of M'Gann and Kaldur.

"I wasn't expecting it. Next time, I'll be fine." Connor snapped.

"Sure tough boy, we'll have to do this again then." Artemis smirked. She had only taken a couple sips of her water and looked at Wally with a smug expression. For once, the speedster had no comeback as he lapped at his water glass,

Once Wally and Connor had recovered enough to talk, Kaldur pushed his half-empty bowl aside and leaned in towards the others.

"I do not wish to bring up unpleasant topics but it is necessary for us to discuss the events of last night."

They all sat up straighter at the mention of the mission. The laughing, careless veneer of normalcy they had all adopted slipped away to reveal the heroes beneath.

"I talked to the League this morning and they agreed to leave the mission to us as they have broader problems to focus on." Aqualad paused and a subtle but undeniable ripple of pride ran through the team. "The attack may have been random but I have a feeling that there is something bigger going on. I think best course of action right now is to interrogate the intruders who were captured yesterday. Does everyone agree?" The Atlantian looked a little hesitant and Robin could tell he was still uncomfortable in his role as leader. A pang of envy shot through him.

The team murmured their assent and Aqualad looked relieved.

"Do you all have any other suggestions?"

"I still have to test what kind of mojo might be in those beads we found. I can do that while you guys go talk to the baddies as I'm not really into the whole 'interrogation' thing." Kid Flash offered.

"You're not much good for anything." Artemis muttered under her breath. Kid Flash shot her a look but didn't say anything. "I'll help you out just this once, Kiddie Flash, I don't want you blowing up the lab or screwing up the results."

"I don't need your help! Are you even good at Chem!?" Kid Flash protested.

"I'm in AP Chem at the moment so quit your whining!" Artemis retorted.

"I think Artemis should help you Kid Flash, two pairs of eyes are better than one." Aqualad said firmly. Kid Flash subsided but Robin could see the rebellion in his eyes.

"I can go to talk to Commissioner Gordon about the cameras around Gotham. I know he set them up awhile back." Robin said. Aqualad narrowed his pale eyes in consideration.

"I am unsure whether we should bring the city police into this operation. Additionally, I may need your skills in questioning the prisoners."

"Actually, I can help you out there." Miss. Martian interjected. "If you ask them about the attack, I'll be able to glean something from their thoughts." Almost unconsciously, her eyes drifted over to Superboy. "But if that's okay?"

"Yes Miss. Martian, that is actually very helpful." Aqualad reassured her and she looked relieved. "Superboy, you can also come with me as your superhearing will let us know if any of the inmates are lying." Superboy nodded.

"Gordon won't mind helping and Batman trusts him." Robin argued. After a few more minutes of deliberation, the Atlantian finally nodded.

"Thank you, that is very helpful team. You should finish your private investigations in two days so that we can discuss what we have found." He looked around at each Young Justice member. "Again, this seems like something minor but we should not delay in case it is something bigger. Good luck."

Everyone nodded seriously and once the check had arrived and been paid, the young heroes purposefully dispersed in their various tasks. As Robin looked back though, he thought he could see the sway of a blue fedora and the glint of two differently colored eyes.

 _It's not real. He's dead, you're imagining things._ Chanting the thought like a mantra, he walked out of the dim restaurant and into the deepening twilight.

"Hey Babs, mind if I come over?" Robin was calling his red-haired classmate.

"Sure, is this a date? If so, you're paying." Barbara asked.

Robin snorted. "Yeah sure, I wanted to ask your dad if it was okay for me to check some your dad's cameras."

"Doing some voyeurism?" She joked.

"You're welcome to watch with me." Robin said suggestively. Barbara laughed and the sound warmed him to his toes.

"Actually though, why do you need to see them?"

"I don't want to tell you now over the phone but I can tell you in person." He hoped Barbara understood the implication that he was being careful not to leave a recorded trail. Fortunately, she did.

"Okay, but you better not be late BJ." He groaned at the awful nickname.

"Yeah, be there in a flash Barbie." He hung up before she could start chewing him out.

Thankfully, the Gordons didn't live too far from he was and he reached the modest house in about twenty minutes. It was starting to get dark outside and the sky the dim purple of a bruise. He knocked and Barbara immediately answered the door. She was still in her uniform though she was barefoot.

"Okay Boy Wonder, why do you need to check the city cameras?" She asked as she led him into a small sitting room that smelled a little like cigar smoke. Robin threw himself into his favorite ottoman by the window.

"I'm checking to see if I can find the car that transported the criminals to the water plant. Some of the cameras should've caught the license plate."

Barbara sat on the arm of the ottoman and she bit her lip in thought.

"Hmm…the problem is that my dad would need to clear it with the security department in order to let you view the footage. That could take a couple weeks and might alert the wrong people to your mission."

"What do you mean?"

With obvious reluctance, Barbara elaborated.

"Dad's been making an effort but the police department isn't 100% clean and they are probably informants and spies for the underworld. I mean this is Gotham after all." There was a spark of anger in her clear blue eyes. "I wouldn't want news of your investigation getting out to the wrong ears."

Stymied, Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered the matter.

"But I do have a solution." Her face was sparkling with mischievous glee. "You and me, we could break into the camera room tonight and hack into the video archives and find the footage from last night."

"I like the way you think." He smiled broadly and they high-fived. "What time will the police station be empty?"

"Around 2 am but there will still be a couple officers around. I'm sure we can handle them."

"Alright, I'll head back to Wayne Manor for now but I'll meet up with you at two under your window."

"Okay Romeo, toss a couple pebbles at the window once you're here."

"Will do Juliette. Don't drink any poison while I'm gone."

"Don't tempt me."

Robin was too impatient and tired to walk all the way back to the manor so he took the nearest Zeta tube to the Batcave. He wearily tramped up the damp stairs and to the secret entrance behind the grandfather clock before listening for any telltale noises. Hearing none, he pushed his way out only to be greeted by Alfred standing at attention.

"Ah, I thought I heard you coming up the stairs. It's good to see you after your night out."

"Oh hey Alfred. Where's Bruce?" The sight of the butler's familiar face seemed to unleash the floodgates of his exhaustion and his entire body seemed to melt into the floor.

"Master Bruce is on a Justice League mission in Africa and I'm afraid he won't be back for about two weeks." The sharp-eyed Alfred then looked at Robin carefully.

"My goodness, you look like you've been through the wringer, if you pardon me saying so."

"I certainly feel that way Alfred. I only managed to get a couple hours of sleep last night." Robin murmured, swaying a little.

"Well take a hot shower and go take a nap. I'll wake you when it's time for dinner."

"I can't, I have homework." Robin protested feebly.

"I insist. Growing boys, especially young heroes, need their rest. You'll have time for homework after dinner. Come along now." The butler herded his young charge upstairs to his room and although Robin argued, it did feel nice to have someone caring for him.

After a long shower that felt heavenly on his sore limbs, Robin collapsed onto the bed in his dark room. As he turned onto his side, the suppressed events of the day slowly slunk back into his brain like an unwanted cat. Robin gripped the sides of his head as if he could physically force the memories away.

A quiet but increasing sense of fear was growing inside him and he kept his eyes trained on his pillow. He was afraid of looking to the side and seeing the blurring figure of his teacher with her stitched smile and jerking head. He could her now, her hot putrid breath on the back of his neck, the maggots falling onto his skin-

He sat up quickly, his skin tingling with icy needles. There was no one there.

 _Of course there's no one there. Stop being so ridiculous!_

Robin lay back down slowly, his gaze drawn to the shadows pooling from the inside of his walk-in closet. Eventually, he fell into an uneasy slumber filled with too-bright images of an empty circus and muffled, disjointed voices.


End file.
